Surgical dressing.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY P. WEIDIG, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SURGICALDRESSING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 696,123, dated March 25, 1902. Application filed April 11, 1901. Serial No. 55.411. on specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY P. WEIDIG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Surgical Dressings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new material for surgical dressing.

At the present time absorbent cotton, lint, loosely-woven fabrics, &c., are the usual materials for surgical dressings. Where a certain rigidity is required, this is supplied by means of a plaster cast, splints, or other mechanical contrivance.

The object of my invention is to provide a dressing which while perfectly soft when applied may be made plastic, so as to assume the contour of the part of the body to which it is applied, and which will harden in this position, so as to serve at once as dressing material and light and elastic splints.

This improved surgical dressing material consists of a combination of ordinary cellulose and pyroxylin.

The following method I have found the most convenient for producing my new dressing material: I take undyed loosely-woven fabric of vegetable origin-"muslin, for instanceand carefully eliminate therefrom any sizing, oily, and resinous matter, so as to bring the fibers of such fabrics as nearly as possible to the condition of absorbent cotton.

The fiber is then subjected to the action of depending upon the thickness of the thread A and the percentage of nitration desired. Other acid mixtures and temperatures may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. By this treatment the exterior portion of the thread becomes nitrated and the inner portion remains as a core of ordinary cellulose. In other words, the exterior portion is soluble in any of the pyroxy= lin solventssuch as acetone, wood-alcohol,

amyl acetate, &c.while the interior portion is insoluble in said solvents. When such afab= rib is used as asurgical dressing, it will when moistened with a solvent of pyroxylin be come covered on its surface with a pyroxylin solution which will serve as a cement, unite the fibers, and on evaporation of the solvent form a stifi solid bandage, serving the purpose of a combined dressing and light and elastic splints. plied until after the bandage has been definitely placed, the nitrated cellulose retains As the solvent is not apx the fibrous and flexible structure of ordinary threads of which consist of an exterior portion of non-colloidized pyroxylin and a core of common cellulose.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 6th day of April, 1901.

HENRY P. WEIDIG.

Witnesses:

O. B. How, E. T. MIX. 

